Inappropriate Thoughts
by Lydzmrn
Summary: This is my first time writing fan fiction. Please be gentle. I basically took a different route with the story from the beginning. Incorporating most of the characters from the show. I wanted to focus mainly on the relationship between Mindy and Danny without too much distraction by the events and people surrounding them.
1. Chapter 1

**_Inappropriate Thoughts._**

**Chapter One**

Mindy could not believe her luck. One month after moving to New York, she has not only landed her dream job, but she's also met the most captivating man. She was certain all this good fortune would soon disappear but for the time being she was revelling in her luck.

On her way to work, in a subway car that was far too packed, surrounded by people who were way too glum considering they lived in the greatest city ever, she decides to text her new found love to arrange dinner plans for the evening.

"Hey babe. Wanna check out that new Thai place around the corner from my apartment."

She waited for a reply from Casey for what seemed like an eternity. She was certain he would be awake by now. Mindy had left him asleep in her apartment this morning because she had to catch up on paper work after having been late for work and leaving early since she met Casey. She was starting to feel guilty about being such a crappy employee. Not only that but she was positive the partners were starting to give her angry stares. Maybe just one in particular.

Casey finally replied just as Mindy was stepping into her office.

"That sounds good. Around 7pm."

Mindy smiled to herself as she tapped out her reply

"Great! I miss you already."

She set her phone on her desk and placed her new purse she had bought herself as a 'being an adult' gift in her coat closet. Mindy felt especially good considering it wasn't even 9 am but how could her life possibly get any better.

As she sat to tackle the mountain of paper work she had to complete, Danny, a partner at the practice pop his head into her office.

"I'm surprised to see you here so early. What happened? Boyfriend dumped you already?"

Mindy furrowed her brows. "Excuse me. First of all, I'm almost always early. Secondly, no he did not dump me! We are very happy actually."

Danny made a confused noise. Too quite to be interpreted as anything. Mindy was certain he had been sent by some sort of Nazi to trample on her high spirits. Things weren't always easy between her and Danny. Ever since she started working with him, he seemed to be indifferent towards her. That did not sit well with Mindy because she is so used to being liked by everyone. She had chucked it off as him being threatened by her strong feminine role in the office but as the weeks passed, nothing seemed to be changing.

"You know Danny" she started, "you don't always have to be so grumpy. It's like you don't even know how to smile. Is that genetics or are you just a sad person?" She finished with a smirk on her face. She was not trying to rile him up, but sometimes he did get her annoyed.

Danny turned to walk out her office, not wanting to start a fight with her so early in the morning. Before he turned down the hallway though, he spun on his heels and told her "some of us just have a better understanding of life. It's not always rainbows and sunshine." With that he stormed away not giving her a chance to reply.

Mindy sat staring at her empty doorway for a while. She had not meant to offend Danny at all. She just wanted to get him a bit heated. Just like he did her. The look on his face as he walked away though, told her she had hit a sore spot with him. At that point she made a pact with herself that she was going to be more considerate of Danny, even when he made her want to tie a noose around his neck.

By lunch Mindy was feeling very accomplished. She had made her way through more than half of her back log of paper work and was certain she would be finished by the end of the day. She patted herself on the back 'way to go Mindy', she told herself. 'You are such a sophisticated career woman'.

Getting up to go get lunch in the break room with her co-workers, she heard shouting coming from Danny's office. His door wasn't closed shut, just pulled up enough to let people know he didn't want to be bothered unless it was Important. She always kept her door open. She knew it was wrong for her to stop and listen but the curious cat in her made her do it. Or at least that's what she told herself. It sounded like Danny was on the phone, she couldn't hear whoever he was talking to. He must have thought everyone went to lunch already.

"No Christina! For the last time I do not want to talk about it! You have proven to me just the type of person you are!"

Mindy could not believe what she was hearing. She had heard from Tamra, one of the nurses, that Danny and his wife were having problems but she did not know how serious.

"You slept with my best friend! How could you?! I trusted both of you and now you want to talk about it! You got to be kidding!"

She must have been saying something on the other end of the line because Danny stopped his shouting for a while. Finally she heard him say "I hope both of you are vey happy. I don't wanna see you, I don't wanna hear from you and you can expect divorce papers in the mail!"

Mindy stood with her mouth opened in shocked. She knew very little about Daniel Castelano, but she had not pegged him to be the sort of guy to get cheated on. Sure he annoyed her and yes he seemed to always be grumpy but he was not bad-looking. She thought he was a masculine man who any woman would devote themselves to if they were into that particular type of brooding male.

Mindy was so caught up in her thoughts, she did not hear Danny get up from his desk and walk over to his door. She was so surprised when he pulled the door opened that she just stood there staring at him staring at her. No words.

"Get an earful, did you?" Danny was not impressed to see her there. She looked so shocked that he caught her that she still stood there like an idiot with her mouth opened.

He made a move to go past her when she finally came to her senses. "Danny, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just on my way to lunch when I heard shouting."

He interrupted her, "And what? You couldn't help yourself from listening? You found joy in my marital problems?"

"Oh gosh no!" she replied. "I would never laugh at your pain. I really am sorry. Especially after what I said this morning. I feel terrible."

"Save it. Everyone's bound to find out what a failure I am as a husband anyway." He was about to walk away when Mindy caught his arm. He looked down at where her tiny olive toned hand held his forearm.

"Don't you dare blame yourself for something she did to you! This is in no way your fault. If you ask me she is just a huge slut. Maybe she should be on that show Jersey Shore. She definitely acted like a Snooki."

Danny just stared at her confused. He had no idea what she was talking about but somehow he started feeling a little less angry with her.

"It's fine. Things haven't been going so great for the past year with her and I. I'm just so pissed I'm going to have to find an apartment and all that crap now." That made her smile.

"You know Danny, there is an apartment opening in my building. If you want I can put in a good word for you."

Danny gave her a peculiar looked. He didn't understand why she was being so nice to him after he had been treating her so badly since she started working there.

"What?" She asked, looking confused herself.

"I'm just surprised is all. I didn't think you would want me living In your building".

She just smiled and said "yeah well, I figure you didn't need the extra stress. I know how hard it is to find nice apartments in this city. Besides, it'll give us a chance to start over, maybe as friends. Consider it my olive branch to end this antagonistic behaviour towards each other."

Danny smiled at her, "Thank you Mindy. I don't know. Maybe you're not so bad. I've just been annoyed at the world and I guess you were easy target."

"Hey, forget it. I'll let you know what the landlord says, okay? How about we head to lunch? She started towards the break room but Danny still stood there. He was seriously considering living in her building. Maybe she wasn't so bad, he thought. Of course she made stupid pop culture references he didn't get and of course she was always talking about something or the other but all in all, not so bad.

He walked after her, heading to get his lunch. He was still quite ruffled by his conversation with his soon to be ex-wife but somewhere along the line he started to feel just a little hopeful.

**Chapter Two**

It had been three months since Mindy had overheard Danny in his office. Since then he was living in the apartment across from her and they had developed a friendship of some sort. He was not her usual type of friend though. She always did all the talking and they only saw each other at work and sometimes in the hallway or on the subway to work. Mindy knew this was a difficult time for Danny so she kept her distance as much as possible.

She had meant what she said when she promised to be more considerate towards him and so far he had not rejected any of her efforts. She slowly began to realize after the short amount of time they spent together than Danny can be funny when he wanted to. That is, when he wasn't on a rampage about how smelly the city was and how he missed Jersey. Or whenever some baseball team, the Yankees or Knicks or whatever lost a game. She had come to know that that was just who Danny was, a passionate man who likes what he likes.

She was surprised though when one Saturday morning Danny rang her doorbell. This had never happened before. She tried giving him his privacy when he was at home so the last thing she expected was his face looking back at her. She was barely awake and only had her night gown on...okay one of Casey's t-shirts. She felt a little overexposed so she hid behind the door when she opened it to see what Danny wanted.

"Mindy it's 11 o clock. Were you still sleeping? He said, eyeing her hair. She quickly patted it down thinking of what she must look like after the night she had with Casey.

"Well Good Morning to you too Daniel." He smiled. Some where along the line he noticed Mindy called him by his full name whenever she wasn't too impressed with him. He didn't mind it though. He looked past her into her apartment and then back at her. Taking in all parts of her he could see that the door didn't block. He hadn't intended on doing that but she looked a bit flustered and he couldn't help himself. He's a guy. That's what guys did.

"Umm, did you need something Danny?". She brought his attention back to her face.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to see if you wanted these tickets I had to go see John Legend tonight. I got them a while back to surprised Christina but obviously I won't need them anymore." He looked down the hallway as he said the last part. Clearly, he still had some pain from his divorce and wasn't fully able to look straight at her the few times he mentioned it.

"Danny, that's so thoughtful of you. I didn't even know he was in town tonight. I mean I know that one song he made for his wife. It's so good Danny. She's a model you know. The video was so hot...ugh I wish I was her..." Mindy caught herself rambling. She pursed her lips and just took the tickets from his outstretched hand. "Thank you so much Danny. I'll take you to dinner sometime, maybe, to repay you."

"That's alright. Just enjoy the show."

As he walked back to his apartment Mindy called out "Do you like Mexican food? I know the best place." Danny just shook his head and smiled. It's like she didn't even hear him. He just gave her a wave and went into his apartment.

Mindy stared at his closed door for awhile. She was certainly gonna have to set Danny up with someone soon. He is way too lonely. His divorce is still fresh but that doesn't mean he can't have fun, right? As she was coming up with her 'Get Danny on the Market' plan, Casey came up behind her and hugged her around the waist.

"Who was that babe?" He kissed her at the curve of her neck. She smiled as she turned and closed the door.

"That was Danny. He gave us tickets to go see John Legend tonight. Isn't that cool?"

"Oh sweet. I didn't peg you for a John Legend fan though." He said as they made their way to the kitchen to make breakfast together, as they did most Saturdays.

"Um of course I am! I don't just listen to Katy Perry and Beyoncé you know. I like soulful music too. I can be classy". As an after thought she said, "never mind that I'm shacking up with my boyfriend, I have class!"

He walked up to her, arms in the air in a 'I give up' way. "Of course. You are the classiest, most sexiest, intelligent, hot babe I know".

Mindy smiled. She was certain she had the best boyfriend in the world. So what he didn't have a steady job and of course she would love it if he had his life more together, but when he said things like that it just melted her heart.

When she had first met Casey, she was just so happy he was a good guy who didn't seem to be a cheating bastard and so far, he was. It did get to her a bit though that he didn't seem too ambitious. She would sometimes drop hints for him to maybe try doing something other than deejaying but so far he hasn't taken heed. She thought she loved him, or maybe really liked him. Neither of them had said it to each other yet, but she just had a feeling she could make him into a decent man. A man worth marrying. Ugh! She still had work to do. That much she knew, but that was just one little bump to get over. A piece of cake. She could get him into shape. This could be her forever.

Sitting down to have breakfast she broached the subject once more. "You know Casey, I saw a job ad in the newspaper yesterday for a entry level accountant at a firm in Manhattan. It's a good company. I googled them. Maybe you should apply." She looked up at him and he just stared at her for a minute before finally saying "why do you always do that?" She looked at him perplexed.

"You're always trying to get me to find a different job. I told you this is what I love. This is my passion. I'm not gonna be one of those guys working a 9-5 being miserable everyday. Just get off it already!"

Mindy was taken aback by his response. She did not expect that amount of animosity. "Casey, I'm just trying to help. I know you haven't had a gig in over a month so I wanted to show you that you have options. You have a degree, Casey. You're not using it. Why can't you just see that I'm trying to be a good girlfriend?"

"A good girlfriend?!" He got up and started to clear away his plate. "A good girlfriend would see that I'm happy making music and support me and what I do! You haven't even been to my last 3 shows!"

She was now standing up. In utter shock and bewilderment as to what he was saying. She felt like he just slapped her. "Are you kidding me?! I pay all the bills here. I make sure you feel loved at all times. I care about you, that's why I'm trying to help you get your life together!"

"My life is together Mindy. That's what you don't get. You're trying to make me into something I'm not. When are you gonna get it. This is it. I'm not gonna sell out and be some phony pretending to be happy!" He was already on his way to the bedroom and pulled down a gym bag suturing clothes into it.

She followed behind him. "What are you doing? Where are you going?". She stood there with her hands on her hips. Was this really happening.

"Well obviously I'm leaving. I can't deal with you always making it seem as if I'm some no good, untalented fool trying to make good music. This is what I love and no amount of annoyance from you will change it. I'll get the rest of my stuff later. This is over."

"What? Casey, no! I'm not trying to change you or anything." As she was saying this, she was asking herself why she was really trying to stop him. "I love that you're passionate, it's just that sometimes I think you would be more successful doing something else. I promise I won't bring it up again. You don't have to leave."

"What's done is done Mindy. You are never going to be 100% ok with what I do. It's best we save each other the trouble."

She just stood there as he left. How could such a perfect morning go to shit so easily. They were supposed to go to a John Legend concert later tonight! This is not how she planned this day to play out. What the fuck just happened!

The slamming of the door broke her from her thoughts and full realization hit her. He was gone. He was gone. They broke up! She fell to the floor in a rather unladylike fashion and just cried.


	2. Chapter 3

Mindy spent the entire weekend in her apartment. She didn't talk to anyone. She didn't call Gwen, her best friend and she didn't go to the John Legend concert. She wasn't going to go alone! Only the biggest losers did that! She didn't tell Danny to take his tickets back because she couldn't be bother to explain why she wasn't going. She was not ready to face people.

By Sunday, Mindy was all cried out. She had rationalized everything in her head. Her ultimate conclusion was, it was for the best. What future did they really have? As much as she told her self that over and over though, it would still hurt when she thought of it. She decided on one thing, she could sit and mope about her break-up or she could pick herself up and continue with her life. She was going to put on some Beyoncé, sing Single Ladies and finish the bottle of wine calling to her from the fridge. No sense in crying over spilt milk is what her mother would say. 'Who needs men!' She thought. 'I'm young, I'm hot and I am the best OB/GYN in the city! Take that Casey!'

Monday morning rolled around and Mindy had a brand new take on life. She was gonna take the city by storm. She was gonna be the socialite she had intended to be when she first moved here. She walked into her office with a huge shit eating grin on her face just so everyone could feel how she felt.

Danny noticed her walking in. "Did you run into Justin Timberland or something? What's with the grin?" He eyed her sideways, noticing the very colourful ensemble she was wearing. He faked covering his eyes, "you're gonna get swarmed by bees with all that colour." He laughed out loud, finding pleasure in his not so clever joke.

"First of all," Mindy started, "its Justin Timberlake. Gosh! What are you, 100 years old?" She looked over at Betsy and Beverly as they snickered and she laughed. "Secondly, I was reading through Vogue last night and they said colours are in. So, jokes on you Castalamo!"

"We're the same age Mindy! Stop fooling yourself..."

"I had a revelation this weekend Danny. I say your as young as you feel. I feel like 26, so I'm 26 and you can't tell me otherwise." She was in such a good mood not even the early morning banter with Danny could bring her down.

"I bet the state of Massachusetts has documents to prove otherwise." Danny quipped back.

Mindy just stuck her tongue out at him as she passed him to head to her office.

"You know what, you're not 26, you're 5! You dress and act like one!" Danny yelled at her retrieving back. He said it with small smile tugging at his lips so Mindy knew not to think anything of it.

"Better than being ancient!" She shouted back as she disappeared into her office. Danny just laughed. He had gotten so accustomed to her making jokes about him being old. He didn't mind. He knew he wasn't that old. He was 38 for crying out loud. She was only 6 years his junior. He dropped the file he was working on and went after her.

"So are you gonna even tell me how the concert was or what? Did you get up on stage?" Danny was genuinely curious. He wanted to know he had given her something that made her happy. He didn't know when he started caring about wether or not she was happy. He didn't dwell on that now though. He would have to figure that out later.

She turned to look out her window without answering him. Mindy knew he would have asked. She had planned on telling him it was fabulous and leave it at that. Now that he actually asked though, she couldn't bring herself to lie. She also didn't want to talk about Casey. As much as she was over it, she still did not want to rehash it.

"Um. I don't know. I didn't go." She said this without looking directly at him. Choosing instead to focus on the clock on the wall above his head.

"What! What do you mean you didn't go? I thought you were excited to see him?" Danny was perplexed. If he knew she wasn't going to use the tickets he would have given them to someone else. He hated being wasteful.

"Well...umm...the thing is.." Mindy couldn't complete a sentence. After fumbling with her words she just gave up and stared at him.

"Spit it out Lahiri! I have never known you to be speechless. Why did you waste the tickets. I would have given them to someone else if I knew u weren't gonna..." Mindy interrupted him.  
"Casey and I broke up!" There. She said it. She waited for Danny to say something while staring down at her hands. He still didn't speak. She eventually peeked up at him and was just standing there with his hands in his pockets staring at her.

"Well don't just stand there, say something. Gosh you're awkward!" Mindy was feeling flustered having to discuss this with him. His lack of a response just added to the discomfort.

Danny didn't know what to say. He knew how he felt hearing the news but he couldn't say that to her. He couldn't tell her that's the best thing he had heard all day. He couldn't tell her how happy that made him. Why did that make him happy? Was he becoming some sort of relationship grinch? Gosh he was twisted! He snapped out of the weird place his mind was as quickly as it had gone there. "I didn't know, Min. I'm sorry. What happened? No. You don't have to answer that. Not unless you want to. I didn't mean to get so angry about the tickets. It's okay. Forget about it." He rattled all that off without taking a breath. Now it was his turn to look at anything except the person he was talking to.

"Thank you Danny. Really, I'm fine. I'm sorry about the tickets. I'll still take you to dinner or something." She paused for a moment, waiting for him to look at her. He remained focus on whatever caught his attention out her window. "I'm glad I finally told someone," she continued. "I haven't talked about it since, unless you consider me talking to myself."

"Are you sure you're okay? Do you want some ice cream or something?" Danny finally looked at her. He was relieved she didn't catch on to his earlier reaction to her news.

Mindy made a weird face. "What movie have you been watching? Not every girl cries with a tub of ice cream after she's been dumped. I, myself, prefer a nice bottle of wine, or two and the magnificence that is sour straws."

"Just checking." Danny said. He could tell Mindy was actually okay. She wasn't crying herself into an asthma attack and he saw no signs of wadded of tissue anywhere. Her acceptance of the event surprised him. This is not how he ever pictured her dealing with a break up. Maybe she didn't really love the guy. That made him smile.

"What's funny now?" Danny hadn't realized that her eyes were now glued to his face.

"Uh, nothing. I just remembered something funny. Anyway, I have an appointment coming up so I'll catch ya later." He spun and headed out of her office without waiting for a response. He mentally chastised himself for not having a better poker face.

Mindy stared after him as he left, confused by his sudden need to leave. That man just gets weirder by the day, she thought.


	3. Chapter 4

After 2 months of being single had gone by, Mindy was certain she was ready to get back on the dating scene and she knew exactly how to do so. A fun night out on the town, scouting all the gorgeous guys who want to do the same thing as her, have fun!

"Alright everybody! Listen up! Clear your schedules for Friday night because it's about to be on!" Mindy declared this while sitting in the break room with the other Doctors and nursing staff. Betsy and Shawna were there as well.

"Are you having a party Dr. L?" Morgan asked. "You know I can help you decorate. I can also make the meanest margarita. Every ingredient would just add up to $10. Also, do you have $10?"

"Ok, Morgan. Hold your horses. I was thinking we could have a work night out at this new club I saw a flyer for on the subway! Apparently, it's the hottest spot right now." Mindy said all this while doing her little hand in the air dance. Not paying attention to the odd look flashing her way.

"That's such a good idea, Dr. L." Betsy chimed in. "I've never been to a club before. What should I wear. My mother send me a new knit sweater dress that could probably work." Betsy's face was radiating excitement.

"Betsy, don't ever wear a sweater dress! Ever! That is so two years ago! Find the tightest, shortest dress in your closet plus the highest heels you own and that should be perfect." Mindy was just about to ask if everyone was in agreement to hit the club when Danny spoke up.

"You do know it's the middle of November, right? Danny gave Mindy his most sceptical look.

"What's your point Danny? You're stealing my joy!"

"It's cold out! Why would you tell her to wear the least amount of clothes possible. That's just doesn't make sense. I mean, I see all these women walking around the city shaking like a leaf in a storm just because they don't wanna cover up. Does that really make any sense..."

"Ok, old man. Calm down. This was not an opening for one of your rants!" Mindy interrupted him.

"I'm just saying, it's stupid." Danny went back to reading the newspaper he held in his hand and took a sip of his coffee.

"Don't listen to him Betsy. He's old. He doesn't know what's hot or not. Anyway, we weren't inviting him because how else was he suppose to go home and fall asleep at 9 o'clock like the grandpa he is." By now Danny was staring at Mindy as she smirked at him.

"What! I don't go to bed at 9. Who told you that? I'll come to your little thing just to show you I don't have to be home that early." Danny rebutted. What was he doing? He didn't like clubs. That's what 21 year olds do when they are finally able to drink. He wasn't about to get shit faced with some college kids. He was a grown man for crying out loud. How did he continuously get himself caught up in Mindy's plans.

"Whatever Danny, you won't show." Mindy turned back to the group, "everyone, I'll post the club details on the bulletin board. Be there. Friday at 11." Mindy was pleased. Now she had a group to go out with. She wouldn't seem like a desperate spinster on the prowl. Guys will just think 'there's a hot girl hanging with her friends, I'll go talk to her'. She beamed. This was perfect.

"You know that board was put up for important work related news." Danny remarked. Mindy didn't take the bait on this one as she left the break room. She was already planning her outfit in her head and all the drinks she would order. Danny could not rain on this parade.

'Why can't I find anything to wear? I swear I have no clothes at all'. Mindy thought this as she stood in her walk-in closet bursting with outfits for any imaginable occasion. She could not find an outfit that was reminiscent of putting one's self back on the market.

"I need to go shopping. Honestly, this is ridiculous." She spoke to herself as she dragged a LBD down from its hangers. She realized that she hadn't worn it before and immediately slipped in on. She found her favourite Louboutins, which had spikes on them, put them on and spun around to catch a complete view in the full length mirror.

She was pleased with what she saw. "All I have to do is accessorize and that'll be it. I must say I look totally hot!" She continued the process of getting ready. Catching a glimpse at the clock, she realized that it was already 10:30pm. She would have to be going soon. Mindy had started getting ready since the moment she stepped in from work. Plucking a few stray hairs from her eyebrows, making sure her entire body was completely hairless, a nice bath, moisturizing plus trying different hairstyles and makeup looks. If only guys knew the amount of work it actually took to look this good!

As Mindy approached the line-up to get inside the club, she saw Morgan, Betsy, Jeremy and Shawna waiting. She quickly sidled up to them. The pumping sound of the music could be heard from outside the club. There were all sorts of expensive cars and limos idling alongside the curb. Mindy was glad she decided to do this. This seemed like a great place to get her feet wet again. As they waited in line, Mindy couldn't help but notice that Danny was not with the group.

"I guess Grandpa fell asleep watching the nature channel!" The group laughed as she said this but couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that Danny wasn't there. Why did she feel that way though? Ah, who cares! He's missing out.

"Look, Dr. C is here!" Betsy perked up. Danny strolled over wearing a very flattering fitted jeans and a fitted black shirt. It looked like one of the types that rolled up at the sleeves to show off a masculine forearm. No one could tell that though, he wore a leather jacket over his shirt. It was one of those jackets that looked worn but it wasn't actually, it was just made to look that way. Mindy thought he looked like a GQ model fresh from a shoot.

"Whoa! Danny, you look nice!" Mindy didn't actually mean to say that out loud, but she meant it.

"You look nice too, Min. Didn't think I'd make it did ya?" Danny joined them as they all waited to be let in. Mindy smiled at his compliment. She noticed that he called her Min a lot these days. Almost like they were old, familiar friends. She liked it.

Danny was glad he actually stuck to his words. He hadn't been out in a very long time and this group wasn't the worst he could do. He eyed Mindy. She looked fucking gorgeous! He told her she looked nice but that was an understatement. The dress she was wearing was hugging all her curves and he had to restrain his hands by shoving them in his pocket.

Danny knew he was in trouble where she was concerned. Over the months that they had been getting closer and closer. He was comfortable being around her and her constant chattering was almost refreshing to him. As much as he detested some of the thoughts that made it out of her mouth, he realized that that was Mindy. She was fun, she was current and she didn't try to be something she's not. He appreciated her for being real.

As his appreciation grew though, he also started developing feelings that went beyond that of a friendship. He started noticing her scent, her legs whenever she wore a short skirt, he payed attention to how she walked, the gentle sway of her hips, the way she loved to jut her left hip out with her right hand on her hip when she was being a smart mouth. He knew he was a goner, but what could he do about it?


	4. Chapter 5

They finally made it into the club. It was an impressive space. Club lights flashing shades of red over the dance floor, which was packed. The lighting led to an almost seductive feel of the club. The line up at the bar was absolutely ridiculous. They made their way over to wait their turn to be served. This was similar to being crammed in the subway, only you wanted to be here. The music was even louder now. Mindy could feel the beat shaking against her feet.

"Hey Danny, check it out!", Mindy shouted above the music, "they have women dancing in cages! How cool is that?!"

"What?!" He leaned in to hear her. Danny knew this was not his scene the moment he walked in. He was gonna leave this place deaf, he was sure of it. He could not believe there were so many people who had nothing better to do on a Friday night. He could tell Mindy was eating it up though. She obviously loved all of this.

"The cages! I've never seen that before!" She shouted louder than before. "It's gonna be impossible to talk to anyone in this place, but clubs weren't made for talking were they?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind!"

Finally making their way to the front of the bar, they all leaned over and ordered their drinks. Danny liked his liquor without any additives so he went for straight bourbon. Mindy, on the other hand, loved a sweet flavoured drink. She looked disappointed when they told her they didn't have sangria, she pouted and ordered red wine with ice instead. That was the closest thing they had. At least the colour is right. Danny and Shawna made a face at her.

"What?! Am I judging what you alcoholics are drinking? I swear, only alcoholics can drink straight liquor!" They shook their heads at her.

Danny signalled that this round was on him and paid the bill. Mindy was standing beside at the bar still, they other had gone over to a sitting area to snag a table. He was confused by this. Why was there a big couch in the middle of the club.

"Do you want to go sit with them?" Danny asked Mindy.

"I'm gonna circle a little bit. I wanna see everything!" Mindy veered to her left as Danny made his way over to the group.

She didn't know there were this many good looking men in the city. We're they hiding from her during the day time or what. So many handsome, tall, employed looking guys. She was definitely gonna get herself a man tonight.

"How's it going?" One of such said men shouted in her ear. Mindy was taken back a little because she didn't expect this.

"Oh hey! It's really jamming in here!" Mindy inspected him while she answered. He was relatively tall and good looking. He was dressed in a hipster kinda way though. Mindy thought he looked like an out of work actor.

"Are you here by yourself? Wanna come hang with me and my friends?" He pointed over to a bunch of girls in the tightest dresses imaginable. Are they even breathing? That was a red flag, what guy had a bunch of girlfriends he went to the club with?

"I came here with friends. I'm heading back there way now actually." Mindy moved pass him. Not such a great start, but the night was young. She was approached by a few more guys as she made a huge circle around the club. She was not too impressed by the guys so far. They all fell short in some way or the other.

"Ugh! These guys are all over me! I need a minute!" She said as she sat beside Betsy.

"You didn't meet your Prince Charming out there?! You got to be kidding me?!" Danny said sarcastically.

"Hey! There are really good guys here. I just didn't find the one! What are you doing by the way? Are you gonna sit there all night like this is your living room?"

"No! I'm gonna go dance. I actually like this music. Come on guys!" They all got up to hit the dance floor. Mindy was the last to get up. Dancing wasn't exactly her strong suit.

"We're all doing this? Okay...". She reluctantly joined them on the dance floor.

The dance floor itself was a mess. Spilt drinks all over the floor, sweaty bodies bumping into her and the scent of worn off perfume and body odour.

She went to her go to dance move of hand in the air, dipping and swinging her hips from side to side in tune with the music. This was a move she practiced in the mirror to perfection. It would go well with just about any song. It was also very seductive, which Danny noticed right away. What is she doing? Is she trying to kill me? Who dances like that in public? It was very suggestive. He could only picture her gyrating like that horizontally.

As he began to make his way over to her, some guy in an expensive looking sports jacket slid up to her and asked her to dance. He knew this because she nodded her head excitedly and started dancing together.

He watched them for just a short while before turning around to dance with someone else. Luckily for him, there was a gorgeous, dark haired goddess sliding up next to him. She was a great dancer and challenged Danny to step up his moves. He's never told anyone but he used to take dance lessons as a kid. Those came in handy now.

Mindy noticed Danny dancing with some slim, brunette girl as she turned around. She immediately hated the girl. She looked like one of those girls who thought being a ballerina was a lifetime goal. Gosh she was skinny! Who dances like that anyway? And where the hell did Danny learn to dance like that? She messed up her rhythm watching them. Danny was a really good dancer. She was borderline mesmerized. 'A man that can dance well is bound to be good in bed'. What? Where did that thought come from? She didn't care how Danny was in bed! She dragged her eyes from them and went back to her dancing partner.

"My name is Josh by the way!" He shouted at her.

"I'm Mindy."

"Listen, wanna get out of here?"

"Yea, sure." Mindy slid over to Shawna and Betsy and told them she was leaving. Morgan and Jeremy had already infiltrated a bachelorette party, they were fine. She didn't bother telling Danny, he looked too involved in his partner.

Danny caught Mindy leaving out of the corner of his eyes. His mood immediately soured. He was no longer interested in dancing, he just wanted to leave. He knew he had no right to be upset with her, she didn't belong to could not help the feelings that washed over him though. How could she possibly leave with a guy she just met? Is she crazy? What if he was some sort of rapist or drug addict? He was frustrated. He wanted to get his pent up emotions out somehow. No better way than to lose yourself in someone else, he figured. He needed up leaving with his new blonde friend as well.

As Mindy exited the club, a waft of cool New York breeze hit her. It's almost like it brought her senses back to her. She couldn't go home with this guy! She didn't know him! What the hell was she thinking?

"Listen," she turned to Josh, "I think I just wanna go home. How about we just exchange numbers and we can have coffee some time."

"Um, yea sure. No pressure." He scratched the back of his neck as she typed her number into his phone.

"I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

"Yea, cool. Let me hail you a cab." He stretched his arm above his head and whistled a cab over. Mindy gave him a quick hug and jump in the taxi.

She was glad she came out tonight. She met a guy who was hopefully, not a total creep. He was good looking and very well dressed. He must have a good job. For some reason, she was not completely thrilled. Something was nagging her, she could not put a pin on it right now but it remained in her mind. Bringing forward a major headache with it.


	5. Chapter 6

Mindy awoke Saturday morning with a splitting headache. She glanced over at the alarm clock beside her bed which told her it was almost midday. She was glad she didn't have to go in to the office today. The only way anyone was getting her out of her apartment today was if a patient went into labour. She needed this lazy day.

As she got out of bed she thought back to the night before. She smiled as she remembered Josh, dancing with him, almost going home with him. Ugh! That would not have been good. She glad she came to her senses. As much as her body needed the attention of a man, she was not going to go about it like a ditz. She was a mature professional woman. Sleeping with a guy she just met at a club was no longer acceptable behaviour. On the third date though, it is so on!

She made her way to her bathroom in search of something, anything that would get rid of her headache. Finding a bottle of Advil, she went to the kitchen to grab some water. Mindy heard her phone buzzing in her bedroom but chose to ignore it. She short buzz told her it was only a text message, maybe an email. She started searching for coffee, which she was sure she didn't have. She came up empty after pulling open every drawer and cupboard. In her search for coffee she also realized she didn't have any food in her apartment.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to go out after all, or maybe takeout! Is it too early to order a pizza? Hmm.." She talked to her self as she went to check her phone in the bedroom. She had a text from Gwen.

'Hey! Wanna have lunch? Carl is out with your god daughter. Call me!'

Mindy felt saved. She didn't have to do the old spinster routine of ordering takeout for one. Gosh was that depressing. She quickly called Gwen, who picked up on the first ring.

"Hey! What are you doing? You never take that long to reply." Gwen rushed on before Mindy even greeted her.

"I was searching through my kitchen for food. Thank God you messaged me. I was gonna order a pizza. A lunch out with my best friend who deserted me sounds much better." Mindy walked into her closet as she was talking.

"I did not desert you! Quit saying that! I'm still very much here." Gwen knew Mindy didn't mean anything hurtful.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. You're just married now." Mindy whined. "Where do you wanna go? I'm trying to decide what to wear."

"Remember when we used to get all dressed up like rich old ladies and have brunch on Sundays? Let's do that! I wanna be fancy!"

"That sounds good. Give me a chance to break in a new dress I bought last week."

"Good. Let's me at Sur in about an hour."

"See you then!"

Mindy started getting ready to head out. She jumped in the shower and immediately felt better than when she woke up. The headache had slowly dulled away. By the time she was slipping into her turquoise dress, she realized she only had 20 minutes to get to the restaurant. She decided to pair her nude pumps with her dress and quickly grabbed her gloves and jacket. She checked her reflection in the mirror. She was pleased with what she saw. Her hair and makeup were flawless and she felt great.

She grabbed her giant gold clutch to go with the ensemble and slipped out the door. As she was locking her door behind her, she saw the same woman from the night before who was dancing with Danny slip out of his apartment. She turned to her and her a tight smile before she made her way over to the elevator. Mindy watched as she pushed the button to go down, a very primal urge to throw her clutch at her head rising within her. She had no idea Danny was interested enough in the woman to have actually brought her home. Mindy's mood immediately soured.

As much as it pained her though, she knew she needed to head out to meet Gwen. She made her way over to the elevator as well and stood beside Danny's latest fling. Mindy was dwarfed by how tall she was, causing her to straighten her back and push her chest forward. She thought the woman looked slutty wearing the too tight dress and sky high heels from the night before. The least Danny could have done was give her a button down to cover her lack of clothes.

Mindy felt her mood going south by the second. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when she finally got off the elevator on the ground floor. She made her way out into the fresh afternoon air. The sun was filtering through the clouds and the breeze was cool. She hailed a cab and told the driver her destination, all the while watching Danny's bimbo as she did the same.

When Mindy arrived at the restaurant, Gwen was already there, seated and sipping on what seemed to be red wine.

"A bit early for wine isn't it? She leaned down and gave Gwen air kisses before taking her seat across from her.

"I need this." Gwen said in an almost desperate tone.

"Well I won't allow you to drink alone. I don't want people thinking you're an alcoholic or anything." Mindy was looking around for a waitress.

"If that's the excuse you're going with.." Gwen smiled. "

"Although I probably shouldn't because I woke up with a raging alcoholic induced headache this morning."

"Oh yea. Hot date or what?" Gwen questioned.

"Not really. We had an office thing. We all decided to go out. It was my idea really. We went to that club downtown. It was raging. Like, I've never been to a club like this. There were girls dancing in cages. I know that can sound a bit stripper-y, but it wasn't at all. I thought it was classy." Mindy rattled on about the club as the waiter came to take her order. She decided to have the same thing as Gwen. Red wine was good for the body. Antioxidants and all is what she told herself.

"Did you meet anyone? Because I know the only reason you went with your co-workers was to have company while on the prowl."

"You know me so well, and I did. His name is Josh. We were dancing together for most of the night. He's so tall. And, and he's got the most gorgeous blue eye I've ever seen. Oh my God! I almost went home with him, he was so hot!" As if on cue, Mindy's phone began buzzing in her clutch. She dug it out to find a text from Josh.

'Hey there! Remember me? Wanna have dinner tomorrow night?"

Mindy quickly tapped out a curt 'yes' to which he responded with a time and place.

"So?" Gwen inquired.

"He just asked me to have dinner tomorrow night."

"By text? He didn't even have the decency to call?" Gwen frowned at this.

"Is that bad? I wasn't offended." Mindy finished her glass of wine just as there order was being taken and decided to go for another glass.

"Of course that's bad. First off, you guys met in a club which is not the greatest place in the world to meet decent guys and then he asked you out by text. That's kind of a immature move." Gwen looked straight at Mindy as she talked.

"Well, not all of us are fortunate enough to have some old, mature man come up to them while out and run of into the sunset to get married and live happily ever after."

"Not that again!"

"Yes, yes! That again! We were supposed to stay single and become New York socialites. Do you know how many actors I should have met by now?"

"Ok! No need for dramatics! Let's just have a nice lunch. I won't say anything bad about Mr Blue Eyes." Gwen acquiesced.

They shared a good afternoon together, popping into a few boutiques after lunch to shop. Mindy adored these rare moments she had with her best friend. This was what being young was all about. Enjoying the weekend with your best girlfriend, shopping, people watching and gossiping.

Mindy was praying she didn't run into Danny as she made her way back into her building. As soon as the cab had pulled up, she was reminded of this morning. She was certainly not In the mood to play nice. And that's exactly what she would be doing, playing. No matter how much she tried to rationalize the situation and tell herself that there was absolutely no reason for her to be upset, the feelings still bubbled inside her. How could he? He'll just take home any random girl that met his fancy? Shouldn't he be more mature than that? And why did she have to be so perfect? That salad eating bitch! Dammit! She was just getting herself worked up.

As she stepped off the elevator on her floor, it's as if the everything in the universe was against her because out walked Danny from his apartment slinging his gym bag over his shoulder.

"Hey." He said as he gave her a side glance. He was still locking up.

"Hello." Mindy replied as she went to her door to do the opposite of what he was doing. She could tell her tone was cold but she didn't care. He deserved it.

"Had a nice day out?" Danny felt awkward talking to her. He was still no longer obsessing on her and that guy she left with. He had time to thing about it while being distracted last night and convinced himself he didn't care nor should he care. No matter what his stupid heart was telling him.

"It was fine thanks. Well, see you around." Mindy slipped into her apartment, not waiting for his response, closing the door. She was so pissed it was as if her skin was on fire. The anger that had been bubbling, boiled over. She was not going to let him get the best of her though. No sir. If she had to ignore hi. For the rest of her life, she was not going to allow Daniel freaking Castelano to get the best of her. She dropped her clutch on the table beside the door but before she could move forward, there was a banging behind her.

She sprint have to twice to figure out who it was but she asked anyway. "Who is it?"

"You know who it is. Open the door." Danny replied.

"Excuse me! I wasn't aware you lived here as well!" Mindy was furious now.

"Will you quit it and open the door a second, Mindy?" Danny almost pleaded.

Against her better judgement, Mindy found herself opening the door. She didn't open it far enough for him to invite himself in thought.

"What do you want?" Her tone was clipped.

"Did I do something to you? Why are you be so standoffish? Usually when I asked you about your day out, you would ramble on for hours about who you saw, what u bought and all sort of nonsense." He was trying his best to lighten her obviously sour mood.

"First off, I never ramble. I'm just a detailed oriented person. Secondly, I truly don't feel like talking to you right now." She finished, putting her hand on her hip, daring him to challenge her.

"Why though? Did I do something bad to you?" Danny was perplexed. Why the hell was she mad. This woman is the most infuriating person alive. How can you go around just being mad at people for no reason and not even tell them when they ask? Why was he even standing here trying to figure it out? Wasn't he going to the gym? Maybe it was the way she jutted out her mouth, making it pouty. Or maybe it was the way her eyebrows furrowed, the way her way her nostrils flared as she tried to get enough air to fill her lungs. It could be the hand on her hip, in the same spot he wanted to dig his fingers into as he ravaged her mouth. He was brought back to the present by her flailing hand in front of his face. He caught her mid sentence.

"...you are just as clueless as every other guy in the city!"

"Wait, what?!" Danny was more confused than ever.

"And another thing, lately every time I'm talking to you, you go off into your head. Probably thinking about some old man nature show that you forgot to DVR!" Mindy was staring at hi as if her eyes could bore a hole in his forehead.

"Are you kidding me?! I'm clueless?! The last time I saw you, you were leaving a club with some jerk you just met!" Danny was at his peak now. He was sure he had done nothing to deserve this onslaught.

"Well, for you information, I sent him home as soon as we got outside the club. I'm not dumb! Unlike some of us who choose to bring home the first girl they see!" Mindy had no intention of mentioning the girl but he brought up the club so to hell with it.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't back down now! I may have left the club with Josh, but he didn't make it into my home! I saw you little friend leaving this morning!"

So that was it. Why the hell was she mad about that? Danny thought. He was a grown man. He could do whatever he felt like. Who said he had to answer to her?

"Well that's just not any of your business, now is it?" He finally replied to her.

"And who I left with isn't any of you business either! Whether I had just met him or known him for all my life. It's no concern of yours!"

"I wasn't concerned! Trust me! You can go out with every guy in the state if you like. What do I care?"

"Perfect!" She veered as she closed the door. This time she turned top he dead bolt and stormed off to her bedroom.

Danny was standing in the hallway staring at her closed door. That had escalated too far, too fast. Why was she so upset though? She still didn't explain that. Was she jealous that he had brought a girl home with him? Why would that matter to her? She didn't like him. She teased him endlessly about how old he was, how sweaty he was, his poor taste in clothes, his love for old television. Why was she mad? Dammit!

As Danny walked away, he stopped and looked back on her closed door. 'Unless, she did like him',he thought. Just as how he had come to find himself harbouring very intimate feelings for her, maybe she felt the same. The thought had never occurred to Danny before. He felt his palm suddenly getting clammy. Could he be right? If he was, what could he do about it if she insisted on dealing with it like she just did? What was he going to do about it, is a better question. As he turned to make his way to the gym as he had originally planned, he began to think of the possibilities.


	6. Chapter 7

Mindy felt an excited tingle in her stomach as she readied herself to go on her first date with Josh. She had spent the entire day thinking about how amazing a night out with a potential boyfriend would be. It's been so long. She stood in front of her mirror turning every which way to seek out the most flattering angle to take selfie before heading out.

Mindy had had trouble falling asleep the night before. She felt like she made a complete fool of herself in front of Danny. She had no way to explain why she was so upset with him sleeping with someone. She had an inkling that it had to do with the feelings and wayward thoughts she'd been harbouring for him recently. She hadn't thought about it before but maybe she was a little attracted to him. It wasn't as though she was ready to claim him as her own, she just had the urge to protect him from every other woman. The more she thought about it, as she laid staring at the misplaced stars in her ceiling, the more she realized she wasn't being completely honest with herself. Over the past few months, she and Danny had grown extremely close. Somewhere along the way, the imaginary line that kept their relationship in the platonic category started blurring. Now, she wasn't sure if there was a line.

It was sometimes difficult to think of him in a romantic sense. When he was being ignorant, uncooperative, argumentative and just plain boring, Mindy was able to justify that whatever she was feeling could not, in fact, be romantic feelings. It's just nature, she was a woman, he was a man, it's natural for there to be some kind of attraction. They're human. That has to be it, right? Either way, it was the day of her first date in months and she was not about to ruin her mood by thinking about him.

Mindy met Josh at the restaurant they had agreed upon. He was punctual, which was a good start and looked rather dapper. Mindy smiled as he pulled out her chair and she seated herself.

"You look nice, not like I remember, but nice." Josh said as he sat across from her.

"Thank you." Mindy replied even though she was not sure that that was a complete compliment. "So, what did you do today? I hate this time of the year. You know when it's so cold you don't want to go outside but not quite winter yet. I like when it snows and everywhere is just white. So beautiful and..."

"I actually prefer summer." Josh interrupted Mindy. "I spend a lot of time travelling because of my job. Mostly I'm in LA, I guess that's why I love the sun."

"Oh, what do you do by the way? You don't have a tan or anything which means you obviously don't work outside."

"I'm a Sport Attorney. I spend a lot of time around basketball players like Kobe and Gasol to name a few. I know all the members of the Lakers team. That's why I head out west so often."

Mindy was surprised at the revelation. She hadn't pegged him for such a big shot. "Are you serious? You actually know Kobe, like you've spoken to him? I don't watch basketball or anything but I still know he's a big deal. Do you go to games and stuff? Um, I mean, you must get to go to a lot of games and have really great seats."

"Yea. That's one of the perks of my job. I also represent some football players and baseballers as well." He sounded so proud of himself, almost bragging.

"That's cool. You know, I always wanted to be like a celebrity doctor. I think that would be such a good job to have. I know everything about every celebrity, so they wouldn't ever be uncomfortable thinking I would blab their secrets or anything."

"That's alright I guess but celebrities kinda go to celebrity doctors. It's just the way it works."

The waiter arrived with their order. "I know that. I'm just saying. I would've like that."

They ate dinner as they continued to talk about everything from the best way to get a cab in the city to the best place to get sushi. Mindy thought the date was going very well and as it came time for them to leave, she made one last attempt to figure out what kind of guy he was by reaching for the check.

"Oh no, come in. I'm a gentleman here. I asked you out." He said with a slick smile.

"I just didn't want to assume anything. I don't know how you were feeling about this." She gestured between them as she said this.

"I mean, I had a good time. We can do it again if you want." He paid the bill and helped her with her jacket.

"That would be nice."Mindy said with a wide smile. She was head over heels. He wasn't a sleaze ball, he had a great job, he was handsome and he wanted to see her again. How lucky was she?

Outside of her apartment, Josh kissed her good night. It was a small peck on the lips but Mindy wanted more. She held on to the lapels of his coat and pulled his head back down to meet hers. He insides tingled as he succumbed to her will and kissed her passionately. Is it legal for one person to be so perfect? She was so happy.

What Mindy hadn't noticed was Danny running up to the stoop on his way back from a jog. As soon as he spotted them he turned around and decided to add another 30 minutes to he routine. Sure, he would feel the effects of over exertion later but as of right now, he needed to clear his mind. Since last seeing Mindy, he had decided that he would slowly introduce the idea of them being more than friends. He thought she clearly had feelings for him but was maybe confused by it. How wrong must he have been? She had her tongue down that guy's throat. He had not idea who he was, he figured it must have been the same guy from the club.

As he sped up his pace, he became more confused and the more confused he became, the angrier he was at Mindy. What kind of game was she playing? It's all well and good for her to be frenching some guy but he can't be with anyone. How much of a hypocrite was she? Was he stupid? Had he misread the entire situation?


	7. Chapter 8

Glorious! That was the word stuck in Mindy's head. She had a great date with Josh last night and he kissed her. A slow smile crept across her face as she thought about it, hands gripped tight on the bar standing in the middle of a subway car. She remembered how good a kisser he was, his hands resting on her hips as he made her float on cloud nine with his lips. 'Im definitely not gonna screw this one up', she thought to herself. Despite his tiny idiosyncrasies, Josh was everything she hoped for.

Mindy practically skipped into her office. Her good mood could not be tampered with. She was very happy at the moment.

"Dr. L did you get the last soft pretzel from the stand around the corner or something? You look so happy?" Morgan inquired when he saw her come in. Betsy and Danny were also at the front desk. Danny did not look in Mindy's direction, he instead took the file her had perusing and went to his office closing the door behind him.

Mindy had known it would be awkward seeing him in the office after what happened on the weekend. She was not expecting him to talk to her, look at her or even acknowledge her presence in a room. She expected it, but for some reason it felt worse than she had prepared herself for. They had never been in a fight like this before. "No Morgan. I had a awesome date this weekend!" she finally replied.

"You met someone Dr. L? Is he handsome?" Betsy chimed in.

"Matter of fact Betsy, he is. He's tall, blonde and he has the most gorgeous blue eyes. I couldn't have picked a better choice for myself."

"Is your boyfriend Ryan Gosling?" Morgan asked a little too seriously.

"I wish Morgan, but this one is a close second. I will send you all pictures. I took tons of selfies on our date yesterday. I'll just send a group message."

"I'm so happy for you Dr. L. I hope you marry this one. Imagine a office wedding." Betsy was moving far ahead of Mindy but the thought made her smile.

She set about going into her office as it was already 9:30am and her first patient would be arriving in 15 minutes. As she walked to her office though, she stuck to her promise of sending pics of her new boyfriend to everyone. Mindy settled in her office and booted up her computer as she glanced over Mrs. Webers file before she arrived.

Danny heard the chirping of his cellphone. He was in his office actively avoiding Mindy Lahiri. He was stewing in his anger at this point. The fact that he could not be free to do as he pleased in his own place of work bothered him. She's the reason he was holed up in his office like some rat, she's the cause of his discomfort, she is the reason for everything he was feeling.

He made his way to his jacket hanging on the coat rack by his door, he had left his cellphone in the pocket. As he swiped the screen and checked the messaged, he visibly grew redder with anger. His entire body suddenly felt 10 degrees hotter and his ears felt as if steam was about to shoot through them. The message had been from Mindy. Pictures of that same guy from the club with the text 'isn't he the hottest'.

'Oh no! She's gonna hear what was on his mind this morning', Danny thought. He was willing to ignore her, but sending him pictures, to what, taunt him?! He wasn't gonna put up with that. He stormed straight into her office, slamming the door shut behind him.

"I can't do this right now Danny?" Mindy said before he even got a chance to get a word out. She was shocked that he was in her office right now. Shocked, but not docile. Whatever was on his mind could wait.

"What?! You self centred little brat! You really don't care about any one else do you?! Unbelievable!" Danny could not get the words he actually wanted to say out. He instead turned to cheap insults. He saw her gasp when he called her self centred. She sat with her face in shock as she registered the venom with which the words spewed from his mouth.

Danny did not wait for her to regain her ability to speak, he continued, "I don't want to know what flavour of the month you're on so don't send me pictures of your date. Save that crap for your little girlfriends! It's enough I have to watch you shove your tongue down his throat, but to actually have you send me pictures?! Are you trying to torture me?!"

Words were just flowing from Danny's mouth. She still sat in her chair dumbfounded by his aggression. He didn't notice this however, because his eyes were closed as he let everything he was mad about spill.

He tightened his eyes to the point where his face hurt. "You trapped me in your little Barbie doll world where everything is all sunshine and rainbows! I didn't ask you for this! I was completely fine living my lonely life. I had a structure. I had a reason for everything I did. Then you! You completely derailed everything. And now you want to rub your boyfriend in my face. People have feelings Mindy!"

Danny didn't know what came over him. He had never suffered from such verbal diarrhea before. This was all her. Not him. He didn't act this way. He opened his eyes cautiously. All the words he had said playing in his head over and over again.

Mindy was so shocked. She sat lifeless in her chair, unable to form a thought or to process properly what he had just said. "I have an appointment right now Danny." That's all Mindy could manage to say. It was as if some sort of robot had taken over her body. There was no sign of any emotion in her voice. It's as if she hadn't heard a word he said.

Danny stood looking at her, confused at her lack of a response. He was so flummoxed he turned on his heels and left her office. He saw that everyone had gathered at the front desk and they all stared at him as he made his way back to his own office. He didn't feel the need to stop and try to give them some fake explanation. They had clearly heard everything that was said. Only an idiot wouldn't understand what was going on.

Danny paced in his office. Righteous in his anger. Did she not care about anything he had said? Was she so far gone? He spilt his guts, no matter how rudely he may have done so, he had done it. And what? Nothing! She had an appointment! Who gave a fuck about her appointment?! The more Danny thought about it, the angrier her got. There was no way he was going to be able to see patients being in the mood he was in. He grabbed his jacket and his bag and headed out.

"Betsy, please cancel my appointments scheduled for today. I'm taking the rest of the day off."

"Okay Dr. C." Betsy replied eagerly and with that, Danny left the office.

Mindy was still seated at her desk, only now, she had folded her hands atop it with her head resting on it. She could not believe Danny had just spoken to her like that. He didn't give her a chance to explain anything. It was a mistake. She surely did not mean to send him the pictures. Why would she do that, they weren't even being friendly! It was all a mistake and he unraveled himself in front of her so quickly, she didn't have time to explain that to him.

What were all those things he said? What had she done that was so bad? All she ever did was try to be his friend. How was she supposed to know he didn't want that? He certainly never said anything. Of course she knew people had feelings. She was always mindful of that. Where does he get of?! All this because of some damn pictures?

Mindy didn't know where to start nor how to start processing her feelings, instead she shoved them aside and called for Betsy to usher Mrs. Weber in. 'Danny was not going to get off the hook this easily' she thought. As soon as she finished with her clients for the day and conferences with Gwen, she was gonna let him have a piece of her mind. Serve it up to him just as he did her.

. 

**Thank you all so much for reading! I appreciate the reviews. **

**I posted this chapter earlier but didn't realize a mess it was. Holy 'ENTER' key! I hope I edited it properly this time around.**

**Am I the only one stuck re-watching episodes of TMP almost everyday. I'm obsessed. Can't wait until April 1st! OMG!**


	8. Chapter 9

"Gwen, I literally could not get myself to think! It was like he had barged into my office and struck me dumb and you know it takes a lot to shut me up so you can imagine how shocked I was by him." Mindy explained to her friend on the phone.

It had been a long day. She barely made it through all her appointments and by the end of the day, she was wound so tight and stretched so thin, she felt as if she was about to explode.

"I don't understand. I thought you two were friends? What exactly did he say to you sweetie?" Gwen speculated.

"First off, I should let you know that I didn't mean to send those pictures to him. It was for Morgan and Betsy. Stupid Morgan had to ask me if he was hot! I only wanted to show them that he was and mistakenly sent him the picture too. He could've just said..."

"Honey, stay on track." Gwen interrupted.

"I am. So he got the picture too, barged into my office, called me self centred! Me of all person! I am the most self less person ever! I gave a homeless lady my breakfast sandwich the other day!"

"Mindy,..."

"So he said I don't think of anyone but myself and he didn't ask to be my friend. Get this, I am taking over his life." Mindy was exasperated, just by retelling what had happened.

"Well, it couldn't have just been the picture. Did something happen with you two?" Gwen ever the perceptible one asked.

"We kinda had a fight over the weekend. He brought some skank he met in the club home. I ran into her when I was coming to meet you on Saturday."

"I see. Why did you have a fight about that? Why were you mad that he took her home?"

"I don't know! I just am, alright! That's not something I would picture him doing!"

"But you went out with that guy you met at the club, didn't you?"

"That's different." Mindy explained. "I didn't sleep with him the first night I met him!"

"Why do you care so much who Danny sleeps with Mindy? Be honest. Do you want to be with him? Do you like him?" Gwen knew her friend better than she knew herself. Mindy could not commit herself to thinking about being with Danny because she was afraid it would not end well.

"What? I don't...I would never, ever...! Me have feelings for Danny?! That's almost laughable." She tried her best to deny what she knew in her heart was true, even if she could bring herself to admit it.

"It's me hon. It's ok. I won't judge you. Frankly, I think it would be great." Gwen stated. Clearly she was not buying Mindy's poor attempt at denial.

"No! Gwen, you're not listening! I don't want to be with him!" As the words came out of her mouth, Mindy finally acknowledged to herself that they weren't true. Why else would she have reacted how she did? She was met with silence at the other end of the line. She knew this trick, Gwen would remain silent until she finally blurted out the truth. Might as well get it over with.

"Alright, fine! I may have thought about it a couple times. I mean he's kinda hot but I'm not going to make a fool of myself and profess eternal love. We're alway fighting about something! Besides, I don't know how he feels." Mindy felt as if a boulder she had been carrying around was finally lifted. It was good to actually say the words. "He did ask me though, if I was trying to torture home by sending him pictures of my date!"

"What else do you need? Do you want someone to write it out on a cake for you or something? He obviously likes you more than just a friend. How much? I don't know, but you at least have to talk to him and find out."

"What about Josh? I just started seeing him and I think I actually like him a lot." Mindy was now being faced with a whole other list of problems. "How did I get myself into this mess? Ugh!"

"First off, I think you should talk to Danny. He's your friend. That's more important than worrying about what's next. Secure the friendship first."

"I will. Gwen, you are so smart! You should have your own talk show or something." "I know, but I don't think they're ready for all my good wisdom. I reserve that for you."

"I'm gonna go talk to Danny. He left earlier today, hopefully he's home." Mindy started gathering her things to leave the office. She had no idea what she was going to say to him, but she figure it out.

"Okay. Call me tomorrow."

Danny spent most of the day in the gym. There was something so relaxing about pushing his body to its limit that was just so relaxing. It gave him the opportunity to clear his mind. He knew he overreacted with Mindy in her office. There was no excuse for had to apologize. His problem now was he didn't think she would ever talk to him again, he would blame her if she didn't.

He had just gotten home after spending a great deal of time in the liquor store trying to find a decent bottle of bourbon. He padded barefoot into the kitchen to get some ice before two fingers into a tumbler. He had just turned on his stereo to drown out the sound of his own mind. Amos Lee's Violin was playing softly in his apartment when the doorbell chimed. He wasn't expecting anyone but he made his way over to the door just the same. Without checking the peephole, he opened the door to see Mindy standing there with a box of pizza from his very place. Danny did not speak. Neither did Mindy. They both stood there, just staring at each other. Danny could not fathom why she would even be here, let alone bring pizza and Mindy could not bring herself to say what needed to be said.

"I'm so sorry.." "I'm sorry". They spoke at the same time after what felt like an eternity. Laughing nervously, Danny scratched the back of his neck. "Um, do you wanna come in so we can talk?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice. I got pizza. I don't know if you've eaten already. I can just leave it at my place if you have. I don't..."

"I haven't eaten. Pizza sounds good. Do you wanna eat first or do you wanna talk?" Danny did not know what to do with himself. He felt like a nervous teenager stuck in the closet with his crush.

"Let's talk. I'll let you go first." Mindy was mentally preparing herself to hear the words Danny may or may not say. If it turns out he didn't like her, she would be okay. If he did, great! She just knew she couldn't put herself on the line first, so she allowed him to talk first.

Danny walked over to the kitchen island and rest his bourbon there then gestured for her to sit with him on the sofa. "First, I'm really very sorry for what I said to you this morning. I had no right. You have been a good friend to me and I was ungrateful and spiteful with my words. You didn't take over my life, you made it better. I was in a sad place and lonely place, you came in like a ray of sunshine. You made everything better. I'm happy you are my friend. You are not self centred neither are you a brat. You almost care too much about people. If you didn't care about me, I don't know where I would be."

"Danny, I'm sorry too..."

"Wait Min, let me get this all out. About the picture. I was a little shocked that you sent it to me of all person, considering we didn't leave on good terms Saturday. I was confused that you would send that to me. I realize now that it was a group message so I figure you may have attached me as a mistake. But Min, I meant what I said about it being torture. That's how it feels when I walked up and saw you kissing him yesterday, that's how it feels whenever I hear about you crushing on some other guy, that how it felt when you overlook me for someone else. I don't know if you get what I'm saying now. I have feelings for you Min, really strong feelings. Along the way of our friendship, everything started meaning more to me, you started meaning more. I know you just started seeing this guy and I don't know how you feel about him but I don't expect you to say anything now."

Danny got up and started pacing around his coffee table. He had said what was on his mind for weeks and now it's all up to her. "You have no idea how long I've been meaning to say this to you." He stopped and looked her straight in her eyes. "You are beautiful, you are smart, you are the most caring person I know. Any man would be so lucky to have you. I would be so lucky."

Mindy got up from where she had been sitting all this time. Tears pooled in her eyes as Danny finished talking. No one had ever made her feel so overwhelmed, there was no one word to describe the emotions flowing through her. She walked over to where he stood breathing as if he had just ran a marathon and sweating like it too. She didn't care. She reached out, brushing her fingers along his brow. Staring into his eyes felt as if she was seeing him, all of him for the first time. Gone was the secured man who did not let anyone pass his wall. Gone was the man who gave up on being loved.

Danny looked back at Mindy. She had wonderment in her eyes. It felt like he could show himself to her now. There was nothing about himself he wouldn't share with her, everything she needs, everything she wants to know. Anything she wants him to be, he knew in that moment, he would be that for her. Her eyes drifted down to his lips and back to his eyes. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't stop himself. Danny stepped closer to her, their chests almost touching. He tucked a few strands on hair that were loose from her bun and tucked it behind her ears. He left his hand there, gently caressing her cheek as he leaned forward and tentatively kissed her lips.

Closing her eyes, Mindy held on to Danny's arm. She felt the heat radiating from him, all over his body. His lips so soft, pressed firmly against hers. Mindy's body came alive as she moved in closer opening her mouth to allow the kiss to deepen. A small moan escaped her as Danny's hand moved all over her body.

Danny almost lost his mind hearing her moan like that, knowing it was because of him. He shifted on his feet so he could pull her closer to him, mashing their bodies together. Her hand moved to the back of his neck and she held his head firmly against hers, ravaging each other's mouth.

Mindy could feel Danny hardened against her. This was euphoric. His tangled his tongue with hers, sucked her lower lip and ever so gently nipped it with his teeth. Mindy felt like the earth moved beneath her feet as heat pooled below her waist. She was lost in him, lost in his lips, lost with his hand grabbing and pulling her towards him as if her wanted to make their bodies into one. He grunted deep in his throat and started unbuttoning her shirt. The cool air against her skin must have been like a finger snapping her from a trance.

Mindy let go and stepped back looking at Danny. Not sure how things could have gone so far. Her lips felt puffy from his ministrations. She didn't know what to say to him in this moment. That was the most perfect kiss she had ever gotten, his lips were gloriously soft yet firm. He kissed her like a man who was sure of himself, a man who knew what a woman would like in bed. That's where they were headed had she not stopped. "Um...I..ah". Mindy did not have words.

"Maybe we should take a step back." Danny suggested. He had been waiting for her to say something first, afraid he might have taken things too far.

"Yeah. I really want to make sure we don't rush anything here. This is important." Mindy moved over to the sofa, fearing that her legs might give out. Danny moved over next to her, close but not touching.

"Yea, we still need to get everything straight."

"Yea, um. So, you were right. I did send the picture to you by mistake. I'm sorry about that. Now, Saturday. I didn't realize it then but I think I was a little jealous. Seeing that girl come out of your apartment woke something up in me that I hadn't paid attention to before. I handled it wrong though. I shouldn't have expected you to read my mind. Also, I was afraid that if I told you why I was upset, you would think I was crazy. I didn't know how you felt and I didn't want to put my heart on the line. I have thought about us before, but I can't see how it would work. That's why I always push it out of my mind. We argue all the time and I can't think of anything we have in common. I know you think I'm a ditz and you know I think you're a grandpa. How could that ever work Danny? I have feelings for you too, and we clearly have chemistry but I don't want to do anything that would ruin our friendship. What if it doesn't work for us?"

Tears were rolling down Mindy's cheeks. Today had been a very emotionally taxing day.

Danny brushed away her tears with his thumb. "Hey, I don't want you to feel pressured into making a decision right now. As much as I want this, I will give you time. But Mindy know this, there are no guarantees in life. Two people who have everything in common could get married and hate each other after a year while two complete opposites can be together forever. I will not promise you that we will be together forever, but I will promise you that I will do everything to make sure we have a great shot at forever."

"I don't know that I deserve any of this. I am a mess Danny. Can you handle that?!" Mindy sniffed and grabbed her sleeve to wipe her nose. "Look at me, I don't even have tissue in my purse and that's something every woman should have!"

Danny chuckled lightly. He reached behind him to grab a box from the side table. "Here. Don't beat yourself up so much. I know you're a mess. I still like you."

Mindy threw the box at him in fake anger. "You not suppose to admit you know I'm a mess!"

"I'm sorry. I'll try not to remember that."

"We have so much to figure out. Where do we start?"

"Why don't we eat first and figure the rest out later. Okay? I'm a patient man and your worth waiting for."

Mindy smiled at him. In that moment, she knew exactly what she was going to do. Her problem was the nagging voice in the back of her head telling her she will make a mess of things.

**This is a very long chapter. I kind of got caught up in the story. I'm not very confident writing physical scenes so let me know what you guys think of the kiss. **

**I will maybe wrap things up in two more chapters.**

**Yay! Season 3!**


	9. Chapter 10

it was Friday. Mindy had gotten caught up in a very busy schedule to allow herself the time to do what she knew needed to be done. Danny said he was patient but she didn't want to have to let him wait any longer. She didn't want to wain't any longer.

"Hey cute face." Josh picked up his phone. "I was just thinking about you."

Mindy hated this. Breaking up with someone was the hardest thing ever, next to opening up a new box of Mac n' Cheese correctly. she swore that push here direction was just to taunt people. Everyone knows you have to rip the tab. "Hi...um..are you free for lunch today? I wanna talk." Mindy's voice was not enthusiastic at all. She was gonna have to go into Beyoncé Pad Thai mode to do this.

"Oh man...is this gonna be what I think it is?" Josh questioned having heard her tone and knowing that Mindy's voice was always filled with excitement.

"W-what do you mean?" she replied while mentally telling herself to chill.

"Listen, we went on one date and it was okay. You don't need to build this up to what it isn't. When a woman says she wants to talk, I know what's coming and I'm letting you off the hook. It's cool." Josh finished. Having obviously figured out what she had wanted to discuss.

"Um, I really didn't want to do this over the phone because that's kind of cowardly but yes. I was going to say I didn't want to see you anymore." Mindy let out a huge sigh after saying that. All the guilt she felt about being so close to Danny, vanished.

"Its cool. You don't have to make this into something we both know it isn't. I mean c'mon, we weren't exclusive. It's all good." Josh sounded a little too relaxed, Mindy thought.

Is this what dating is now? She had thought they had a great time and a potential future but obviously she was wrong. Was she the only one who still believed that while dating someone, you should only be dating that one person and not everyone who asked? How else do you know if you stand a chance with someone if your attention isn't focussed on that one person?

"Seriously Josh" Mindy was starting to get riled up, "I thought this was heading somewhere serious and wanted to be an adult about my feelings but your blaze attitude is really upsetting."

"I thought you knew the deal babe." He replied. Clearly not flustered by her remarks.

"You know what, don't call me babe. And since we have this all cleared up you can lose my number."

"Cool." And he hung up. What the hell? Is this what guys are doing now? Dating a bunch of girls because no one mentioned exclusivity on the first date? Who knew that was something you actually had to do? She was in her late twenties to early thirties, she didn't want to date a bunch of guys and so help her is Danny thinks he's going to be seeing anyone else...

She stormed into his office, he was at his desk perusing over a patient file. the door swung shut behind her as she stood with her hands on her hips.

"If you for one second think that you are going to be dating anyone else while we are going out, you better think again Castellano! I am not going to be one of the girls you work into your schedule..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Danny was confused and shock. He didn't even know she was in the office. He knew she had surgeries scheduled all week. Here she was though, obviously caught up in her head. He chuckled as he thought about the absurdity of it all.

"Don't you dare laugh at me! I am talking about the fact that dating in this day and age is all about looking for the next best thing. is it do hard to go out with one person at a time? I swear all men suffer from attention deficit!" she collapsed into the chair across from him, looking at him expectantly, waiting for a reply.

"I don't have a clue what got you so upset, but let me reassure you that I don't believe in dating around. I don't have the time to be dating all over New York City, you know that." Danny finished with a deadpan look.

"Are you saying if you had the time you would?" Because that's what it sounds like to me, which does not make it any better. I'm not asking for a diamond ring or anything, but I don't want to have to be trying to figure out if I was you first choice to take out on Friday night or if it was the leggy blonde but she was already going out with someone else so you called me! I will not do that!"

Danny got up from his chair and walked around to sit in the chair beside her, turning himself at an angle so he could see all of her. "What happened? I have the distinct feeling that this isn't about me at all."

"Well, I called Josh to break it off with him only to find out there was nothing to break off because, get this, we only had one date and weren't exclusive. We kissed Danny. I mean doesn't that mean anything? Are people going around just kissing every and anyone. That's such an intimate thing."

"You sound upset about breaking it off with him. Is that what's going on here? Did you not want to break up?" Danny couldn't keep eye contact. He was feeling very vulnerable.

It was Mindy's turn to be shocked. "What?! Were you not there with me Monday night. Danny I want to be with you. I don't want Josh. I just want to make sure that you and I are on the same page. We are only going to see each other. We are exclusive." Mindy raised her hand to his arm and squeezed his bicep, reassuring him that she was still interested.

Danny gave her a lopsided grin. He hated being so insecure and vulnerable but that's what she did to him. She made him so unsure of himself sometimes, he just wanted to please her like she did him and sometimes the uncertainty got to his head. "I was just checking." He finally replied.

"Aww...is Danny being a big baby? Huh, little chubster?" Mindy teased in an effort to lighten the mood.

"Okay. I'm gonna stop you right there." Danny said as his half grin turned into a full blown belly laugh. "I wasn't that chubby. I liked to eat. Sue me."

"Suing you isn't exactly what I had in mind." Mindy said with a leering smile, changing the atmosphere in room. Suddenly the air was thick.

"Oh. What were you thinking of doing to me then?" Danny gave her a winked which almost made Mindy turn into a puddle at his feet. She could get used to flirtatious Danny.

"You little pervert. I was talking about dating you. Not that...what you're thinking." Mindy was getting overheated. Suddenly it was like the middle of summer. Who turned up the heat?

"What was I thinking Mindy? What do you think I want you to do to me? Danny's voice was too low, his eyes focused on her as if she was all he could see. He moved so close to her while talking that they were sharing the same breath. Mindy was sure he was going to kiss he. He didn't. She waited for what felt like an hour, breathing his breath, staring into his eyes before she grabbed his head towards hers and kissed him hard.

Danny did not hesitate. He returned her fervour, pulling at her to get closer. The arms of the chairs were in their way. He realized his hold on her to get up, he pulled her up with him. Before she knew it, Mindy was pressed against his desk and Danny was pressed against her. His hands traveled to her hips, squeezing into her skin. She knew they were threading on dangerous territory, too close to ripping their clothes off. She couldn't stop him though. It felt too good.

Danny was trying very hard to be a gentleman but she had put thoughts into his head and then she kissed him. He couldn't go back from that. He wanted to stop, he wanted to take her to dinner and then do their "something", because it's always dinner and something as she had told him numerous times. He didn't want their first time to be on his office desk, she deserve flowers and romance but God, he couldn't stop. She tasted like the ripest strawberries in the middle of summer. Like the a cool drink of water after a long hike to quench his thirst. Her hair felt like silk between his finger as his hand glided between the softness at her nape.

"Hmm..." she heard the sound around them. She had no idea who it came from, it didn't matter. She was too enthralled in this man. Danny's hand moved to unbutton her blouse, she was busy trying to pull his shirt from his jeans as well. Finally freeing, he released her mouth to revel in the beauty of her naked skin. She watched him as his eyes grew darker still, he mouth opened the slightest bit, taking her in. Danny's mouth quickly found hers again, she felt such confidence in that moment knowing that he liked what he saw. His hands moved up to her breast, gently brushing the underside covered by her lace bra. A chill ran down her spine and her nipple grew hard.

Danny felt her shiver beneath him, he was pretty sure she wasn't cold but he enveloped her even more just in case. His hand spanned across her lower back, her chest pressed into him. He could feel her nipples piercing his chest, he was pretty sure she could also feel his erection against her hip also. He nipped along her neck, moving one hand to cup her breast. She mewled and ground herself against him. He smiled into her neck, loving the fact that he was pleasing her.

"Danny, I know we should wait until we've officially been on a date, but we're grown and I want you so bad right now. I'll literally die if we wait another minute."

"Are you sure? It will be hard, no pun, but I will stop so we can do this right."

She shook her head, "I want you now". She kissed his jawline, moving to the pulse at his neck. He moved his head slightly to give her more access. She bit him, not hard enough to leave a mark but enough to make him lose control all over again.

Danny lifted her up unto her desk, hiking her skirt up along the way. He pulled down her bra to exposed her breasts fully. Upon sight he grunted like a caveman and dove to her chest. She flung her head back in reckless abandon as electric waves moved through her.

Bang bang bang! The knocking at the door brought the to a stop immediately. "Dr. Castellano, your 11 o clock is here." Betsy's voice rang through.

"Uh..um" Danny cleared his throat before trying again. "Just give me a minute. Have her wait in the exam room. I'll be right there."

Mindy was now busy trying to right her clothes while Danny backed away buttoning and tucking in his shirt.

"God, it's not even noon yet. You're such an animal Danny!" Mindy chided, not the least bit serious because she was right there with him all along.

He chuckled. "Easy now Miss I Can't Wait." Mindy swatted his arm. "How do I look? Presentable?"

She wiped the lipstick residue from his mouth and neck before giving him a nod. "That's as good as you're gonna be. How's my hair? Do I have lipstick all over my face?"

"No you're fine...okay. I'm gonna go to my appointment." Danny made his way to the door, as he was about to turn the handle to exit, he turned to her, "Min, be ready to go at 6."

"What? Be ready for what?" She thought he meant to go at it again, which she didn't mind at all.

"Dinner and something." He replied and then he was gone.

**I am trying to have this finished before April 1st so I will only add one more chapter.**

**Thank you to everyone who read and left their reviews. **

**I have been so caught up in the spoilers I can't even deal. Did you guys see the pics? And then that promo today sent me over the bridge. I can't wait!**


	10. Chapter 11

Mindy had raced home after her work hours were finished. She could not remember a time she was this anxious about a date. There was no reason for her to be nervous, she wouldn't have to deal with the awkwardness of a first date with Danny because they basically know everything about each other. However, the fact that they were going on a real date, cemented things. It meant this was real, they weren't just messing around, stealing kisses. No, they were dating, as in starting a real relationship and if nothing else, this terrified her a little.

The knocking at her door caused her heart rate to peak, she had just finished applying her make up. Mindy's eyes flashed to the clock outside her bathroom which told her he was early. She didn't even need to peak through the peephole to know who it was at her door. She did anyway, just to see him. To look at him without him having to be aware of it. Mindy liked having this type of freeness to check him out, the tiny hole in the door did not allow her the type of view she wanted though so she opened the door.

"Hey" Danny said simply. He was dressed in a dark grey suit that had the softest sheen to it as to not make it so boring. He paired that with a black button down, choosing to leave the top two buttons undo, showing the sprinkle of hair high up on his chest.

"Hey. Your early but I'm almost ready." Mindy replied. She was so impressed by how great he looked.

"These are for you." He handed her a bouquet of a dozen peach roses.

"Wow Danny, thank you. These are beautiful. I've never gotten peach roses before." she held the bouquet to her nose she inhaled a lungful of the velvety scent.

"Ah, I ask the florist for something that had meaning and she suggested these." He began fidgeting with something in his pocket as he sated down at his shoe as if he already knew her question.

"What do they mean? By the way, will you come inside. I need to finish getting dressed." Mindy made her way into the kitchen to fill a vase with water for her roses.

"Our reservation is at 7:45, so we have sometime. I got ready pretty quickly and figured I'd prefer waiting here with you instead of at my apartment." Danny was hoping she had forgotten the question she asked earlier, it seemed that way as she busied herself in her closet picking out an outfit.

Mindy wanted to be the ideal amount of classy tonight. She had to pair her outfit with what Danny was wearing. She also wanted to have a little hint of sexiness, so she chose her red snake skin dress that hug her every curve but left a lot to the imagination. She paired this with the most fabulous pair of Louboutin she had been dying to wear, they were simple, black pumps that made her feel like a new woman. Ah, what they right pair of shoes could do.

"Do you wanna have a drink or something before we head out?" Danny called to her from the kitchen. He was already busying himself making their drinks. He needed to get his nerves under control. Deep breathing was no longer doing it for him, he need the help of a little Jack. He was certain he would be able to be cool, calm and collected on his date with Mindy. Why shouldn't he be. They had been friends for so long, they knew each other very well. This should be the easiest thing in the to transition into a relationship from a friendship, right? That's what he told himself, but he knew it would not be easy. They are risking so much, he knew that, but he also knew how great it would be and that's what he chose to focus on.

"Sure, I could use a drink." Mindy made her appearance in the kitchen, a tiny smile forming on her face.

"Oh wow, Min..you look...Wow." Danny couldn't complete his sentence. He always knew Mindy was beautiful and she always dressed nice. This time had him stomped because in the back of his head he knew she was dressed like this for him, she looked this gorgeous because she was going out with him. He cleared his throat and tried again. "You look absolutely breathtaking Min".

Mindy glanced down at her outfit, happy with the choice she made based on his reaction. "Thank you Castellano and I didn't say this earlier but you look really great too. Like you stepped out of the page of a GQ ad or something."

"Laying it on a little thick there." Danny blushed. He secretly enjoyed the fact that she noticed he had made an effort to look his best for her.

"Shut up and take the compliment. You do look good and I want to let you know." Mindy chided.

"Okay, well thank you." He smiled at her, holding her gaze. He felt a brand new wave of excitement move through him at the moment. How could he be nervous or hesitant. This was Mindy. He had wanted this so long, he was not going to allow fear or anything else to get in the way of what was blooming here.

"Come here." He held out his hand toward her as she made her way to him. Holding her hand and her gaze, Danny took a deep breath.

"Earlier you asked me what the flowers meant and I was secretly hoping you would forge to I wouldn't have to say the words. I want to be honest with you Mindy. I know sometimes too much honesty isn't a good thing but I want us to stand a fair chance. Since I came here I've been thinking how easily we could mess this up but now, standing in front of you, I'm not scared anymore. I realize that this is what I want. You are what I want, and have for a log time. So I'm going to give my all and try everyday to make sure we make this work."

Mindy felt tears sting the back of her eyes. She took a deep breath trying to calm to sea of emotions that ran through her. "Danny, you are such a sweetheart. I love what you said. I had those same thoughts, but as long as you promise that you will try to make us work, even when we are fighting like cats and dogs, which you know is gonna happen, I will try too. I really want us to work." She sniffed her nosed and laugh chuckled a bit. "You still haven't told me what they flowers mean though."

He laughed shyly at her. He felt so much in that moment he too had the beginning of tears in his eyes. He hid them though, it might be a little to early to let her see you cry, he thought. Danny cleared the emotions clogged in his throat. "Um, well.." He took hold of Mindy's hand, "I told the florist I was going on a first date with a woman that has been the best friend I could ever hope for and that I wanted her to be sure of my intentions. She suggested the typical red roses at first but I wanted something unique so she instead gave me these which mean optimism towards the future because that's what I am."

Mindy could do nothing more than lean forward and kiss him. It was a chaste kiss and she took the time to wipe he lipstick residue from his lips, letting her finger idle there. That was the most beautiful thing she had heard and she was having an inner struggle refraining from throwing herself at him.

"I want to forget about dinner so badly right now." She said unabashedly.

"And something." Danny smirked. Relieved that he wasn't coming on too strong too soon.

"What?" Mindy queried.

"It's dinner and something. Which we are going to do, so calm down. I promise you, if you get through this, you'll be rewarded greatly later.

Mindy audibly gasped. Danny was really ever this open. "I love your dirty little mind, pervert."

"I didn't say anything dirty. Get your mind out of the gutter."

"Alright fine. Let's do this, because suddenly I can't wait to get it over with." She winked at him.

"Who's a pervert now. Here, drink up." He handed her a shot glass of Jack Daniels. " I was gonna attempt making a cocktail or something but this is all you have. I don't know how you survive without food in your home."

"Alright. Don't go off on me now. Let's cheers to being optimistic!" That brought a smile from both of them.

Locking the door behind her as they left, Mindy felt as Danny came up behind her and kiss her shoulder. "I'm a very happy man."

She turned, the biggest smile on her face. Taking hold of his hands resting at her hips she said, "Let's do this Castellano."

With that, they were off.

**Ahhhh! Sorry it took me so long to update you guys. I, like everyone else I'm sure, have just been caught up in the new episodes and interviews. I can't get enough of these two.**

**I wanted to make this the final chapter but I'm wondering if another chapter would be pushing it. Let me know what you think.**

**And thank you as always for reading!**


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